Girls basketball: Last-second shot sinks Outlaw girls

Published 2:00 pm Tuesday, January 30, 2024

ENTERPRISE — Weston-McEwen’s Charlotte Hansell saw her shot bounce off the rim, hit the backboard and fall through the net with three seconds on the clock to give the TigerScots a 41-40 2A Blue Mountain Conference over Enterprise in a back-and-forth game on Monday, Jan. 29.

“We had the ball with a one-point lead with 30 seconds on the clock,” said Enterprise coach Dan Butterfield. “We lost the ball with 13.9 seconds and Weston called a timeout and then ran a play for an outside shot.”

That shot missed, but Hansell collected a long rebound and found the mark.

“It was a high-energy game and our crowd was awesome the whole night,” Butterfield said. Nevaeh James led Enterprise in the heartbreaking loss with 14 points. Tessa Duncan finished her night with eight points, fouling out with just 30 seconds left in the game. Alex Rowley added seven points.

The loss is the Outlaws’ the team’s first conference defeat but Enterprise still leads the conference standings at 6-1 followed by the Lady TigerScots and Stanfield, both with two conference losses on their records.

Over the weekend, the Outlaws kept Grant Union winless in conference play with a 55-15 victory on Saturday, Jan. 27 in the Outlaw gym.

After scoring more points in the first quarter than the Lady Prospectors put on the board the entire game, home fans saw the starters for Enterprise sit down early with everyone on the Outlaw team receiving playing time.

Enterprise had 39 points on the board by halftime versus Grant Union.

“It was good to get to play all of the girls at a home game,” said Butterfield.

Eight Outlaws scored in the game, led by Alex Rowley’s 19 points.

Nevaeh James added 12 points before sitting down early in the game.

On Friday, Jan. 26, in what Butterfield described as a “physical” game, the Outlaws beat Irrigon on the road, 47-19.

“I was happy with how we played defense and controlled the boards in the game,” Butterfield said.

Nevaeh James exploded in the first quarter, scoring 13 of Enterprise’s 17 points, and finished with 23 points.

James finished with 23 points, outscoring the entire Irrigon team for the night.

Sophomore Owyhee Harguess chipped in nine points for the Outlaws.

Enterprise (13-7 overall, 6-1 2A Blue Mountain Conference) places its top standing on the line versus Heppner (15-5 overall, 4-3 2A Blue Mountain Conference) on Friday, Feb. 2 in the Outlaw gym. Game time is 6 p.m. with the Mustangs looking to avenge a 47-52 loss to Enterprise on Jan. 12.